By Pamela Roller
Raise your hand if you love those sugar-coated marshmallow chicks and bunnies. Now put your hand down quickly. I don’t really want to know.
For those of you fortunate enough to be unfamiliar with them, marshmallow peeps are those squishy, sugarcoated confections packaged in clear cellophane to show off their, um, beauty, and are usually available around Easter.
Please understand. I love marshmallows. I eat them raw—right out of the bag! I knead them between my fingers until I get a white string to twirl like a tiny jump rope. I melt them under chocolate and graham crackers, or toss them into a mug of hot chocolate. I love to skewer them and hold them over a flame until they’re black and crusty—the outer, burned part reveals a soft inner core that puts me in mallow nirvana.
But for some reason, I can't bring myself to eat those little sugary peeps. Which is okay, because I'm an adult and I can make that choice. However, my son loves them. He’s expecting a whole slew of them in his basket on Easter morning. Unfortunately, the chicks don’t lay eggs and the marshmallow bunnies can't reproduce at light speed like real bunnies, and I don’t want to be seen buying several packages of the things.
So I researched instructions on making homemade peeps and found a plethora of recipes. Be sure to visit the websites for photos. After you make the peeps, please do not put them in the microwave to watch them puff up and explode. That’s just mean.
This one is by Elizabeth LaBau
Love your post, Pam. Hilarious. I'm still smiling at the earless bunny. Never been a fan of the peeps either and had no idea you could actually make your own. No doubt many adventurous souls will. I bought the peanut butter/chocolate eggs for the little and big folks in our clan.
Thanx for this article! I always felt guilty biting into those pink little chicks. Recently, I was surprised (I know I shouldn't have been) to discover that the Peeps have their own websites and fan club. For anyone interested, www.marshmallowpeeps.com and peepsshow.com (be sure and put in TWO "s". They're also listed in Wikipedia!
My daughter actually likes those death-by-sugar things, the bunnies, too. I haven't tried them in the microwave but have nuked marshmallows for 5 seconds. You have to watch 'em rise but stop the nuking before they explode.
Exploding peeps. Not pretty. And messy.
I'm not sure we have these marshmallow peeps in the UK. I've not seen them in the store. At Easter everything seems to be made of chocolate over here. Not that I'm complaining!
Peeps Rule! Not really. Thanks for a laugh at the expense of those poor squishy creatures. I loved the mutilated chocolate bunnies. Now that made me feel guilty.
I've never eaten a peep--figured that's one thing less to get hooked on. Have enough bad sugar habits.
That choc. bunny cartoon is hilarious!!!
--Liz